Moisture release and aligning device



Nov. 20, 1956 P. DOLAN MOISTURE RELEASE AND ALIGNING DEVICE 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 28, 1955 FIG.1

INVENTOR PATRIC K DO L AN ATTORNEY nwz Nov. 20, 1956 P. DOLAN 2,

MOISTURE RELEASE AND ALIGNING DEVICE Filed April 28, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet2 FIG. 4

as 25 l6 l4 25z4 F I 5 INVENTOR PATRICK DOLAN WM av AT TORNEY UnitedStates Patent MOISTURE RELEASE AND ALIGNING DEVICE Patrick Dolan,Richmond, Va. 7

Application April 28, 1953, Serial No. 351,675

9 Claims. c1. 20-5 This invention relates to building construction andmore particularly to-wall .structures of composite characteristics wherethe outer surface covering is of the weatherboard or siding variety.

The type of structure to which reference is made is that wherein theouter surface covering comprises longitudinally disposed strips ofweatherboarding or siding, generally produced from wood, so arrangedthat the upper edge portion of each strip is overlapped by the loweredge portion of the next adjacent strip. Under present prior artpractices and in conformity with the various building codes, thecomposite wall structure contemplated is an exterior wall of a structurewherein the inner surface comprises plaster, plasterboard, wall board,or the like supported in the usual manner upon the inner faces ofvertically disposed studs, the outer faces of said studs carrying theusual sheathing which, in turn, is covered by a layer of building paper,the weatherboarding to which reference has been made being secured tothe studs by fastening elements which extend through building paper andsheathing.

The major failings and objectionable features of walls of this characterarise out of the difliculties inherent to preventing paint from peelingand blistering from the weatherboarding, principally by reason of theaccumulation of moisture between the weatherboarding and the buildingpaper and sheathing. The principal source of such moisture stems fromthe drying out of the plaster, whether by interior building heat orotherwise, with the resultant movement of moisture present in an outwarddirection, through the sheathing and building paper, to accumulate uponthe inner surfaces of the weatherboarding, from which point there is noescape.

- The formation and accumulation of such moisture results not only indamage to the paint applied exteriorly to the weatherboarding but alsoresults in the warping of the boarding whereby undesirable pockets orspaces are created, hastening the deterioration of the weatherboardingand injuriously affecting the appearance of the structure. Suchconditions exist even where highly seasoned lumber is utilized for theweatherboarding, it being borne in mind that under modern requirementsfor housing facilities, the securing of properly seasoned lumber isvirtually a commercial impossibility.

A further objectionable feature in connection with wall structures ofthe character presently under consideration arises out of the carerequired, and associated cost of construction, in ascertaining that thesuccessive strips of weatherboarding are erected in precise parallelismwhereby the perfection of appearance of the finished wall is notimpaired.

With these prior art problems in mind, it is a major object of thepresent invention to provide a moisture release device whereby thepossibility of accumulation of moisture behind strips of weatherboardingwill be effectively prevented.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a moisture releasedevice for use in. connection with wall structure of the character setforth which can be readily installed simultaneously with the erection ofthe wall and which will be substantially invisible whenthe exteriorsurface of the wall is viewed.

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It is a further objection of the present invention to provide a moisturerelease device for use in connection with wall structure of thecharacter set forth which will not affect construction costs materially,construction methods, or wall appearance.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a moisturerelease device which will automatically insure the proper and uniformsecuring of the weatherboarding to the wall studding.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel moisturerelease device for use in connection with wall structure of the classset forth which will automatically insure the proper alignment of eachsuccessive strip of weatherboarding, both as to parallelism and as toprecise degree of overlap, with respect to the adjacent lower strip.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novelmoisture release device for use in connection with wall structure of thecharacter under contemplation which will be strong and durable, whichmay be manufactured with particular economy from readily availablematerials, which will be extremely simple to install, and which willrequire neither special tools for the installation thereof norexperience in the use thereof whereby relatively unskilled labor will becapable of producing finished wall structure of superior appearance.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be readily apparentfrom the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a moisture release device constructed inaccordance with the present invention;

Figure 2, a fragmentary perspective view, parts being illustrated insection, of a portion of an exterior wall constructed in accordance withthe present invention;

Figure 3, a fragmentary perspective view, on an enlarged scale,illustrating a portion of the moisture release device;

Figure 4, a side elevation of a portion of the wall structureillustrated in Figure 2, parts being broken away for greater clarity;

Figure 5, a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 4,looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Figure 6, a fragmentary detail elevation of a slightly modified form ofmoisture release device.

.As shown in the drawings, particular reference being had to Figures 2,3 and 4 thereof,.a portion of an exterior wall constructed inconventional fashion has been illustrated, said wall including an innerfacing or surface 10 of plaster, or the like, secured in the usualmanner to spaced vertically disposed studs 11. In accordance withaccepted building standards and code requirements, these studs areusually constructed of 2 x 4s and are spaced apart 16" from stud centerto stud center. The exterior surfaces of these studs carry the usualsheathing 12 which, in turn, is covered by building paper 13, all as iswell known in this art. The siding or weatherboarding 14 is positionedagainst the outer surface of the building paper and maintained inposition by suitable fastening elements 15 which extend throughweatherboarding, building paper and sheathing, and are securely anchoredin the studs 11.

Preferably the strips of weatherboard are of tapered construction, ofgreater thickness at the bottom than at the top and each strip includesan outwardly inclined face 16, a top edge 17, a bottom edge 18, and aninner inclined face 19, the upper portion 20 of the inner face beingsubstantially vertically disposed and this portion only on each strip 14contacting the adjacent surface of the building paper 13. A portion ofthe lower edge of each strip 7 of weatherboarding 14 overlaps a portionof the upper edge of the adjacent strip and thus air spaces 21 areprovided between the outwardly inclined inner weatherboarding surfaces19 and the building paper 13.

With the above described structure in mind, the present inventioncontemplates the provision of novel spacing means for dispositionbetween the overlapped portions of adjacent strips of weatherboarding toaccomplish the ready release of such moisture as may accumulate in theair spaces 21 behind the strips of weatherboarding.

One embodiment of such moisture release means has been disclosed inFigure l of the drawings and comprises a strip 22 of material havinguniformly spaced offset portions. Desirably, wire or stock of suitablegauge may be employed for the production of such strip material,however, any other suitable material of appropriate thickness may beemployed with equal facility. As illustrated, the strip materialincludes straight stretches or lengths 23 separated by uniformly spacedotfset portions 24 lying in the same plane as the lengths 23 and unitedat the outer extremities thereof by angularly disposed loop-like spacingportions 25 which extend at substantially right-angles to said offsetportions :1 distance substantially equal to the degree of overlap ofweatherboarding desired. The spacing of the loop-like portions 25 iscritical and it is contemplated that the distance between the centers ofadjacent loops will be fifty percentum of the distance between adjacentstuds, thus the distance between the centers of alternate loops shouldbe precisely that of the distance between the centers of adjacent studs,for a reason to be described more fully herein-after.

These moisture release strips or devices 22 may be produced fromcontinuous stock or prefabricated in given lengths. Desirably, an eightfoot length has been found to be particularly convenient, it beingunderstood that the nature of the material is such that the severance ofa portion thereof, Where multiples of preformed lengths are in excess ofthe extent of the wall structure being erected, presents no problem.

The installation and use of the moisture release strips thus describedis particularly simple and is accomplished simultaneously with theconstruction of the wall in the following preferred manner. After thelowermost strip of weatherboarding has been properly aligned and securedto the studding by appropriate fastening elements, a moisture releasestrip 22, or the required number of such strips, is positioned upon theupper edge 17 of the secured weatherboarding with the straight stretches23 resting upon such upper edge and with the depending loop-likeportions 25 in face-to-face contacting relationship with the upperportion of the inclined outer face 16 of the strip of weatherboarding.Proper positioning of the moisture release strips 22 provides aloop-like portion 25 in alignment with the center line of each stud 11and the width of the offset portions 23 is less than that of the topedge of the weatherboarding so that the loop-like portions 25 will notbe spaced outwardly from the inclined face 16 of the weatherboarding.Since no stress is placed upon the moisture release strip or strips 22,these elements will remain in place, however, in the event that it isdesired to guard against inadvertent displacement thereof prior to thepositioning and securing of the next higher strip of weatherboarding,certain of the loop-like portions 25 may carry sharpened tack-likeprojections 26 on the inner faces thereof, intended to be pressed intothe adjacent weatherboarding surfaces as will be apparent from anexamination of Figure 2 of the drawing. In practice, Where such tacklikeprojections are employed, it has been found that three such projectionsor elements are adequate for an eight foot length of moisture releasestripping. Alternately, these tack-like elements may be carried belowthe straight stretches 23 of the moisture release strip, as indicated at27 in the modified embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figure 6of the drawings, or, as stated hereabove, such elements may be dispensedwith altogether, or a greater or lesser number may be provided.

With themoisture release stripping thus installed, the

next adjacent strip of weatherboarding is positioned in overlappingrelationship with respect to the secured strip and associated moisturerelease device. Positioning the lower edge 18 of said overlapping stripof weatherboarding in alignment with the lowermost portions of thelooplike portions 25 will insure an accurate degree of overlap and acorrect alignment of this overlapping strip which is then secured inposition by fastening elements or nails driven into the studding throughthe loop-like portions 25 of the moisture release device, as clearlyillustrated in Figure 4 of the drawings. It will be understood that eachnail passes through the overlapped portions of adjacent strips ofweatherboard, through the associated 'looplike portion 25 and into astud 11.

With the wall construction thus described, moisture release spaces 28will be provided between the overlapped portions of adjacent strips ofweatherboarding, reference being had to the inner face 19 of theoutermost or upper strip of boarding and the outer inclined face 16 ofthe undermost strip of weatherboarding. These moisture release spaceshave been illustrated in Figure 5 of the drawings and extend betweenadjacent loop-like portions 25, it being understood that the widths ofsuch loop-like portions is not sufilcient to interfere with properrelease and/ or evaporation of moisture, and furnish communicationbetween the atmosphere and the air spaces 21 provided between the innerfaces of the strips of weatherboarding and the outer surface of thebuilding paper 13.

It is to be noted that in actual practice the air spaces 21 are affectedto some degree by the fact that the building paper therebeneath tends toopen or expand outwardly to some slight degree from the adjacentsheathing, under outward pressure from moisture passing therethroughfrom theinner or plastered surface of the wall. Where these spaces 21are in communication with the atmosphere, as by the provision of thespaces or outlets 28, possibility of warping or other deterioration ofthe weatherboarding has been efiectively prevented.

It will be understood that each succeeding strip of weatherboarding isinstalled in a manner identical to that described hereabove and, withoutany requirement for especially skilled labor, careful measurement orother laborious precautions, properly aligned wall structure may beerected with a positive assurance that each successive strip ofweatherboarding will 'be uniformly overlapped, in precise parallelism,and with the fastening elements entering into the supporting studdingand in vertical alignment.

While the moisture release strips have been illustrated and described asfabricated from wire stock of substantially circular cross-sectionalconfiguration, it will be understood that flat strip material may beemployed with equal convenience, having solid rather than loop-likespacing elements or portions, it only being necessary that the stripmaterial be of an appropriate thickness and of such character as to bereadily penetrable by the fastening elements 15 .or, if desired,apertures may be provided in the depending offset portions for thepassage of such fasteners.

Moisture release means for an overlapped weatherboard or siding wallstructure has thus been provided which can be produced with particulareconomy and which will effectively prevent any possibility of theaccumulation of moisture behind the strips of boarding. With this structure there will be no peeling or blistering of exterior paint resultantfrom moisture accumulation. Further, deterioration of the strips ofweatherboarding from this and related causes will be prevented. Thestructure is such that no skilled labor is required for the installationof the novel moisture release means and, simultaneously therewith,assurance is provided that successive strips of boarding will beaccurately aligned and properly secured in position.

It will be understood that in the building trades and in other relatedindustries there are various and obvious additional uses for the presentinvention. Examples thereof are in connection with the construction ofroofings where shingles or the like are employed or in the manufactureof ventilated containers where overlapped wall structure is desired.Accordingly, the invention is not considered restricted by that which isshown in the drawings and described in the specification but only asillustrated in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a wall construction having a plurality of elongated rows of stripsof weatherboarding disposed horizontally in overlapping relationship toprovide an air pocket behind each row, each of said strips being thickerat the bottom than at the top and having top and bottom edges, moisturerelease and aligning means comprising an elongated strip of materialhaving aligned straight stretches separated by horizontally disposedoffset portions lying in the same horizontal plane as said straightstretches and a spacing portion depending downwardly from the extremityof each of said offset portions, the straight stretches resting upon theupper edge of a strip of weatherboarding and the downwardly dependingspacing portions being positioned between the front face of said stripof weatherboarding and the overlapping portion of the next higher stripof weatherboarding to provide elongated spaces between the overlappedportions of said strips of weatherboarding furnishing communicationbetween the atmosphere and the air pocket behind said next higher stripof weatherboarding, the bottom edge of said next higher strip ofweatherboarding being located in alignment with the extremities of saidspacing portions to align said strip of weatherboarding horizontally andcontrol the degree of overlap.

2. Moisture release and aligning means of the class set forth comprisinga strip of wire like material including straight aligned stretchesseparated by pairs of ofiset portions disposed in substantialparallelism and lying in the same plane as said straight stretches, theextremities of each pair of ofi'set portions being united by a looplikeportion angularly disposed with respect to said offset portions, all ofsaid offset portions extending in the same direction from said alignedstraight stretches.

3. Moisture release and aligning means as setforth in claim 2 havingrelatively sharp fastening means carried by certain of said loop-likeportions.

4. Moisture release and aligning means as set forth in claim 2 havingrelatively sharp fastening means carried by certain of said straightstretches.

5. In a wall construction having a plurality of elongated rows of stripsof weatherboarding disposed horizontally in overlapping relationship toprovide an air pocket behind each row, each of said strips being thickerat the bottom than at the top and having top and bottom edges andinclined front and rear faces, moisture release and aligning meanscomprising an elongated strip of Wirelike material positioned upon thetop edge of each strip of weatherboarding, said moisture release meansincluding a plurality of aligned straight stretches separated by a pairof forwardly projecting oflset portions disposed in substantialparallelism and lying in the same horizontal plane as said straightstretches, the free extremities of each pair of offset portions beingunited by a downwardly depending loop-like spacing portion, said spacingportions being positioned between the front face of the strip ofweatherboarding upon which said moisture release means is positioned andthe rear face of the overlapped portion of the next higher strip ofweatherboarding to provide elongated spaces between the overlappedportions of said strips of weatherboarding furnishing communicationbetween the atmosphere and the air pocket behind said next higher stripof weatherboarding to release moisture accumulated in said air pocket,the bottom edge of said next higher strip of weatherboarding beinglocated in alignment with the free extremities of said spacing portionsto align said strip of weatherboarding and control the degree ofoverlap.

front face of the strip of weatherboarding upon which said moisturerelease is supported.

7. The structure set forth in claim 5, said moisture release andaligning means having relatively sharp tacklike fastening means carriedby certain of said straight stretches and adapted for engagement withthe top edge of the strip of weatherboarding upon which said moisturerelease means is supported.

8. In a wall construction including a plurality of uni formly spacedvertically disposed studs having a plurality of elongated rows of stripsof weatherboarding secured thereto, said weatherboarding being disposedhorizontally and in overlapping relationship to provide an air pocketbehind each row, each of said strips being thicker at the bottom than atthe top and having substantially horizontally disposed top and bottomedges and inclined front and rear faces, moisture release and aligningmeans comprising an elongated strip of wire-like material positionedupon the top edge of each strip of weatherboarding, said moisturerelease means including a plurality of aligned straight stretchesseparated by a pair of forwardly projecting olfset portions disposed insubstantial parallelism and lying in the same horizontal plane as saidstraight stretches, the extremities of each pair of offset portionsbeing united by a downwardly depending loop-like spacing portion, saidspacing portions being positioned between the front face of the strip ofweatherboarding upon which said moisture release means is positioned andthe rear face of the overlapped portion of the next higher strip ofweatherboarding to provide elongated spaces between the overlappedportions of said strips of weatherboarding furnishing communicationbetween the atmosphere and the air pocket between said next higher stripof weatherboarding to release moisture accumulated in said air pocket,the bottom edge of said next higher strip of weatherboarding beinglocated in alignment with the lowermost extremities of said loop-likespacing portions to align said strip of weatherboarding and control thedegree of overlap, the distance between adjacent looplike spacingportions being equal to half the distance between adjacent studs so thatsaid moisture release means may be positioned upon the top edge of astrip of weatherboarding with alternate loop-like spacing portions inalignment with adjacent tuds whereby fastening means driven through theoverlapped portions of said strips of weatherboarding within theconfines of said alternate loop-like spacing portions will enter intosaid studs.

9. A device for facilitating the alignment of overlapped siding units inwall construction and for providing a space for the release of moisturetherebetween, said device comprising a length of material lying in asingle plane, spaced laterally offset portions lying in the same planeand extending to one side of said strip, and angularly disposed spacingportions of a thickness at least corresponding to the spacing desiredextending downwardly in a single plane from said offset portions foraccommodating fastening elements extending through the overlappedportions of said units, said spacing portions being concealed betweenthe overlapped portions when the device is in use.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS718,165 Sneden Jan. 13, 1903 1,225,972 Kettelson May 15, 1917 1,270,905White July 2, 1918 2,256,313 Dexter Sept. 16, 1941 2,368,867 Olsen Feb.6, 1945 2,634,463 Jarvie Apr. 14, 1953 7,740,166 Siering Apr. 3, 1956

